In ye olden days, you’d write your baby’s firsts in a gold embossed book with a puffy pink or blue cover. You’d shuffle off to the maternal child health nurse with another book and your bub would be measured and tested and documented there, too. Then you’d rely on awesome mother’s groups and parenting magazines to fill in the rest of the gaps and help you work out where your baby sat on the developmental scale, and what might be coming next.

In this digital age, we’ve got so much more information at our fingertips. We’re doing things differently in lots of ways. Yes, we still attend mother’s groups and listen closely to our local child health nurse, but we’re turning to the tools we have on hand to be proactive and find out more.

We all know smartphone apps are developing faster than a Year 1 head lice outbreak. We’ve sorted through the scores of kid tracking apps and here’s the ones we like the best:

Baby Log

Cost: $5.49

You can track firsts (first scan, first steps, first teeth!), feeding schedules, change time, weight, length, the list goes on. You can track more than one child at a time and you can even export your data to a spreadsheet (via .CSV file) if you are super accountable! Download Babylog for iPhone here. It’s available for iPad, too.

Baby Connect

Cost: $5.49

Available on Android and iPhone, this great app tracks not only developmental milestones, but feeds, changes, drop offs/pick-ups, moods, photos and tons more, too. It’s sort of like a homepage for your baby and is a great way to keep all your tot info in one application. For iPhone here and for Android here.

My Baby and Me

Cost: Free

Feeding, changing and sleep tracking, plus a really cute interface for keeping track of special moments and milestones. This is a great looking app with a useful ‘advice’ tab. It has great photo and video capability and the option to share video via email. That could be really useful! I like it that you can file all your info in one place, but still have (family) share-ability! For iPhone here.

My Kid’s Health for iPad

Cost: $3.99

Not just a milestone tracker, but a great personal health record for your child. Keep track of illnesses, doctor’s visits, vaccinations, weight, height and all the feel-good basics for your little tacker. My Kid’s Health can track multiple children and syncs with your iPad calendar so you won’t miss an appointment or forget a date. For iPad here.

Parenting Box

Cost: Free

This is a pretty simple app without the bells and whistles of some. Track your baby’s weight and measurements and also sleep, feeds and changes. There’s the added feature of a to-do checklist, too. You can add important dates and it works for multiple children. Sometimes simple is awesome, right?! For iPhone here and for Windows phone here.

Lazy Mama Baby Milestone Tracker

Cost: $0.99

A dedicated milestone tracker with categories like: gestured, held head up, first word, walked and more. Cute! You can track more than one child and it’s nicely designed and simple to use. For iPhone here.

Tweekaboo

Cost: Free

This app is great! You can track and document all kinds of things, from pregnancy to childhood and it’s set up to be private, but social: invite grandparents and other relatives to share your child’s Tweekaboo. Record milestones, capture special moments, message them instantly to family or friends if you choose. Like a (very private) baby timeline or newsfeed! Tweekaboo for iPhone here.

Baby Sprout

Cost: Free

This cute app tracks milestones and measurements for one or more kidlets. You can track feeding, medical details, immunisation, sleeping and more. It also features monthly developmental updates, to keep you informed about ages and stages. It’s super lovely to look at and you can store photos and all kinds of details about your child’s growth and progress. Download for iPhone here.

Kidfolio

Cost: Free

Like an old-fashioned baby book turned digital, Kidfolio not only helps you document milestones and changes in your child, it connects you with friends and family or other parents, if you so choose. You can access great information on child development at different stages, and you can also create private groups with your friends or family (online mother’s group, anyone?) and swap information and stories. Kidfolio for iPhone. And for Android too.

Tot Tracker

Cost: Free

This informative app lets you create a (private) profile for your child and detail their progress through ages and stages. Track measurements, milestones, growth, immunisation and more with this handy free interface. It includes a diary and upcoming milestones (for the impatient/well prepared) too! For iPhone here.